Signe Persson-Melin

Signe Persson-Melin was one of Sweden’s most prominent designers and ceramists since her major public breakthrough at the H55 housing fair in Helsingborg more than 60 years ago. She was one of the first ceramists in the country to run her own workshop in the 1950s and became a leading designer for companies such as Höganäs, Boda Nova and Rörstrand in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1985 she was appointed Sweden’s first professor of ceramics and glassmaking. And after that – when most people would have chosen to retire – Persson-Melin instead began developing a range of new design collaborations with prominent Swedish producers.

To keep your relevance as a designer for numerous decades is difficult. An even bigger challenge is to create objects which retain their attractiveness over all these years. Persson-Melin’s success in both aspects is probably a result of her decision to never follow trends. She early on developed her own expression and a series of priorities which she has held on to, regardless of assignment. In her work, everyday needs for function and beauty have always come first. In her expression, she has sought aesthetic sustainability, radiance, and attractiveness. In her choices of forms, she has managed to combine the rustic and elegant into timeless simplicity.

This exhibition aims to make Persson-Melin’s consistency visible. The exhibition is therefore not chronologically structured, but instead divived into various themes which have characterized Persson-Melin’s career. The first section of themes highlights her exploration of giving life to the surface through relief patterns and stamping. The second section is based on her great interest in different materials, in particular clay. The third section focuses on her unique forms. The exhibition is produced by Vandalorum and designed by TAF.

Signe Persson-Melin (1925-2022) was educated at University of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm and The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Design in Copenhagen. She has received a wide range of awards, including the Lunning Prize and Sweden’s Visual Arts Fund’s Grand Scholarship. She is represented in the collections at Nationalmuseum in Stockholm, Malmö Art Museum, Designmuseum Danmark in Copenhagen, V&A in London, and MoMA in New York.

Curator: Elna Svenle

Thanks to: Kongamek, Eriwood, Swedish Arts Council, Jönköping County, and Värnamo Municipality.

^{Photo: Patrik Lindell & John Nelander}